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♪ >> From NJ PBS Studios, this is NJ Spotlight News with Brianna Vannozzi.

>> Good evening and welcome to a special edition of NJ Spotlight News on this Christmas Eve.

I'm Brianna Vannozzi.

Tonight we're looking back at many of the extraordinary people we've met over the year.

People who in their own unique way are making change.

Finding ways to help others make a difference in their own lives.

First up, 27-year-old Alana Vizzoni, who was stunned when she got the call from her radiologist relaying her scans showed stage 2 breast cancer.

It was an unfathomable diagnosis for the otherwise healthy Hoboken resident.

Once she got through the first series of chemo treatments in her battle, she took to TikTok warning other 20 and 30-somethings to get checked and not wait.

I had the opportunity to meet Alana in person in October and hear her story.

Alana, it's so great to have you here.

And we should note you are in remission, yes?

>> Technically, yes.

>> So did you have any signs or symptoms?

What made you go get screened in the first place when you're so young?

>> Yeah, well, actually my boyfriend found the lump, which is typical for women my age because we're not doing self-exams, we're not getting screened.

So my fiance now found it.

And I didn't, you know, I just thought there was no world where it was a possibility for me.

So I kind of put it on the back burner for a month or so.

I finally got it checked out by my gyno, and she thought it was just a fiber adenema, which is just like a benign breast lump.

But then I just felt like something was wrong.

A month later, I just was like, I need to get this checked out again.

>> Your intuition kicked in there.

>> Yeah, it was just like a mental awareness, really.

Like I could not get it out of my head.

So I got it checked, and it was breast cancer.

I'll never forget the call.

>> What was that like when you were diagnosed?

>> It was like, first of all, I just -- it was such an unfamiliar territory.

So I heard the word and really thought, like, my life was over first and foremost.

It was just like a complete shock.

I felt like my life as I knew it was just over.

After I got, like, my appointment with my surgical oncologist and I learned more about how far medicine has come, I was more comfortable, I guess.

But still I was just in shock that this was happening to me.

And it was even like a possibility.

>> Because when you say that, you're an otherwise healthy young person.

>> I was in the best shape of my life.

>> And was there any family history where this would even be an inkling in your mind?

>> No, I think that was another thing that I was just like, there's no way.

Cancer in general was something I was unfamiliar with, let alone breast cancer.

So it was just like -- I can't even explain, like, the kind of, like, fog that went over me when I heard the news because it was just like, am I dreaming?

>> Yeah, it doesn't seem real.

So then you go on your TikTok, on your social media.

As you're going through your journey, that's a pretty vulnerable thing to do.

Why did you decide to go public with something like this, something so personal?

>> I think -- so the first video I posted about it was on TikTok maybe a week after I found out.

And I think it was because mostly I felt like if it could happen to me, it could happen to anyone.

And I needed to share that it was -- the rates were rising.

It was in the realm of possibility.

Because I think if I had waited any longer, it would have progressed.

And my diagnosis, my prognosis would have been way worse.

So I felt like I needed to share with people that this is possible.

It is happening.

And it happened to me.

>> Right.

I mean, you went through chemo how many rounds?

>> Eight.

>> Eight rounds.

That takes a big toll on you.

What do you want other young women to know?

I mean, what's your message?

>> I think for people that are diagnosed, have breast cancer, I wanted to share my journey with them to remind them that, like, you aren't what happened to you.

You still are you.

You really are, like, it's not what happened to you.

It's how you react to it.

So just because, you know, you got a horrible diagnosis or whatever it may be, you don't have to lose yourself in that.

Because that's what I was really worried about.

But for women that, you know, have not been diagnosed yet, I just wanted to show them that this is happening.

I wanted to put a face to it so it's not just a blank statistic.

Real people are being, you know, affected by this.

And not to be scary, but it could happen to you if it could happen to me, which, you know, that was really important for me to share.

Because when I first found my lump, I put it off for maybe two months because I was just like, there's no way.

Sure.

So.

Well, Alana, we wish you the best of luck with your health.

Thank you for sharing with us.

And good luck from here on out.

You've got a whole life ahead of you.

Thank you so much.

We're now nearly three years into the war in Ukraine.

Since it began in February of 2022, NJ Spotlight News has reported a litany of stories about the impact the war has had on our state.

From the families who've lost loved ones to meeting those who fled the bombing and were forced to resettle in places like Jersey City.

But one story we aired back in May focused on a Tenafly high school student who wrote a children's book about the war from a child's perspective, telling the true story of a much-loved cat named Messi left behind in Kiev by the family of then 11-year-old Irina Chernyak.

With the help of students from Tenafly's Temple Emanuel, who were delivering 9,000 pounds of aid to the war-torn country, the story of missing Messi spread quickly and the lost cat was miraculously found.

Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan has the tale.

This story is about how two teens connected to create a children's book about the war in Ukraine and a much-loved cat named Messi.

The plush kitten belongs to Irina Chernyak, who was 11 years old, living in Kiev when Russia launched the first missile strikes.

Like many families, they fled for their lives and left pets behind.

In the book, Irina tells her beloved Messi, "I will be home soon, my Kishka."

On the road with refugees, she remembers explosions.

"Bomb and siren.

So scary."

Irina speaks in halting English.

Her mom thought they'd be home in a couple of weeks.

"All my things was about Messi, how she stay alone at home."

Family and friends tried to rescue Messi, but the terrified cat escaped her carrier in Lviv.

The news devastated Irina, who urged her mother to post Internet photos in a desperate search from their hotel room in Warsaw.

"Irina forced me to post in Internet that we lost Messi.

I don't believe in that.

I don't believe.

I said, 'It's not going to help because it's a war.

Who will find some cat?'

But she said, 'Mom, you need to do post.

You need to do post.'"

"Being nervous about where Messi was, if she was ever going to see Messi again, kind of just made the whole situation a whole lot worse."

Trevor Ostfeld's a high school junior from Tenafly who met Irina during a trip to bring humanitarian aid to Ukrainian refugees.

His synagogue, Temple Emmanuel, delivered 9,000 pounds of supplies for families stranded by war.

As Irina told their group about how she needed to find Messi, it reminded Trevor about his own pet, Rocket.

"It's just like losing another thing, like a best friend.

Like, Rocket is, I spend a ton of time with Rocket."

Trevor's family also has deep roots in Ukraine.

His great-great-grandfather was executed during pogroms there.

His own family fled persecution.

"It's not easy fleeing as a little child with your small family, going to a new place where you don't speak the language."

Meanwhile, the search for Messi continued.

People sent photos, and finally, miraculously, one of them was Messi.

Irina's stepdad carried the little cat to Warsaw in Irina's arms.

Her mom translates.

"I think it was one of the happiest days in my life."

"I started to realize that the story is number one, inspiring, by showing how many people came together in a time of war to help a girl get her cat back."

As Trevor worked on writing the book, he took care to present a story that helps children understand what it means to be displaced by war.

Finding Messi, who, yes, was named for the soccer star, resonates with kids.

It's a story of community, Irina's determination, and hope, says crisis counselor Jen Velton.

"Having a very specific goal and not giving up on that goal meant just a world of healing and possibility for her when everything else was shattering.

When bombs were raining down, she felt in her heart, 'I can and I will be reunited with this animal.'"

"Even if you don't understand completely the politics of the war, the effects of the war in terms of data, almost everybody understands what it's like to lose a pet."

The book is selling briskly, and all of the proceeds go to benefit refugees of the war in Ukraine.

As for Messi and Irina, they're doing okay.

Irina's 13 now, in 7th grade.

Messi's back in Warsaw.

"Good, she's so happy, I think."

"How are you?"

"Good."

They're hoping for another miracle, to go back home to Kiev.

The book is dedicated to the children of Ukraine.

I'm Brenda Flanagan, NJ Spotlight News.

Well, there's no doubt the most famous inventor from New Jersey is the great Thomas Edison.

But there are so many others whose stories have never been told, or whose stories were suppressed, like the scores of black inventors from around the country and right here in our state.

One man plans to use the past to inspire the future by putting their stories on display in a new $27 million museum dedicated to celebrating their contributions.

James Howard's mission is to pay tribute to black Americans whose inventions have made an immense impact on society, but who've been overlooked in the history books.

I got the chance to sit down with him earlier this fall, and here's our conversation.

James, great to meet you.

What inspired you to set out on this venture to create a museum?

Wow.

I would say about four years ago, I was sitting in a studio similar to this, except it was virtual.

And the producer at the end of that show had asked me, he says, "James, you know so much about black inventors, and you know so much about history."

He says, "Have you ever thought about opening up a black inventors hall of fame?"

And that just sort of marinated for about three months, and three months later, he and I were both opening up the black inventors hall of fame.

So you start this non-profit.

Who and what are you looking to highlight?

Who are some of the inventors you think the public needs to know about?

Oh, yes.

We're going to begin with Ellen Eglin.

She is a domestic servant from Washington, D.C., who in 1888 designed a clothes-wringing device that revolutionized that industry.

The problem was, she was afraid to get her name out there.

So rather than sign the patent in her name, she gave over the rights to an agent.

He went on to make millions on this device.

She made $18.

And when asked three years later why she sold her patent for so little, this is what she said.

"You know I'm black, and if it had been known that a colored woman designed the product, white women would not have purchased it."

Ellen Eglin.

She said that for a short-lived women's innovation magazine.

That's powerful.

And I must think that there are so many similar stories like that and more that you've unearthed.

Oh, yes, indeed.

The most poignant, in fact, is that of Charles Frederick Page.

Charles Frederick Page was an enslaved man who raised 13 kids, self-taught.

And yet he was ambitious enough to design an airship and then have the audacity and the passion to try to sell that airship, not necessarily sell it, but try to ship that airship off to the 1904 Louisiana World's Fair.

Wow.

Well, Brianna, unfortunately, it never made it.

It was stolen.

It was interrupted.

And the world has never seen Charles Frederick Page's airship.

However, we are, in fact, building and recreating the airship for the museum.

So guests will be able to come and see for the first time what this man envisioned, right, the largeness, the grandeur.

And he had pond all of his hopes and dreams into having that airship arrive at the Louisiana World's Fair because it was a competition.

And everyone around the world submitted their planes and their airships and everything.

His never made it.

But here's an interesting fact.

He acquired his patent two years later, exactly 42 days before the Wright brothers attained their patent.

Wow.

Now, think about that.

I mean, that is remarkable.

And the way that that changes the course of history.

Right.

So, I mean, you're a historian also by trade, and a lot of research has to go into this.

I know it's looking like you're going to acquire a space in West Orange to be able to put this museum out there for folks.

And so what do you want them to know and what should people know about coming to see this work?

I mean, this ingenuity.

I think what I want them to know is that this is a place for everyone.

Right.

To become inspired, to become informed.

Right.

And there's this humanistic quality in all of us that just wants to know how others achieve.

Right.

And at the core of my mission is to influence young, impressionable black kids who will see for the first time that this is a story with Charles Frederick Page.

As you mentioned about history, this is a story that no one knows about.

And can you imagine that if this dream had not been interrupted, how many more young, impressionable kids may have aspired to be pilots?

Right.

Right.

May have aspired to be engineers and may have aspired to dream big.

James Howard, thank you so much for your inspiration.

Thank you for coming in.

My absolute pleasure.

Thank you.

Some know her as the feisty grandma who served in the New Jersey legislature, but former Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg was also a no-nonsense advocate who wasn't afraid to take on the political establishment or their bullies.

Weinberg is the subject of a new documentary.

Politics is a Mother.

Raising Hell is part of the job, directed by her daughter, Francine Weinberg Graff, and it premiered in October at the Montclair Film Festival.

From marriage equality to reproductive rights and her work uncovering the Bridgegate scandal, Weinberg's career is captured through her daughter's lifelong lens.

Francine said she wanted to show that at 80 years old, a time when most women feel invisible, her mother was at her most powerful.

Loretta Weinberg was never invisible.

She has single-handedly improved so much in this state for so many.

Here's my conversation with Loretta and her daughter turned filmmaker, Francine.

When people ask me about that longevity, I say it is a combination of vitamin C and a little hostility.

It wasn't always easy having her as a mother, but somewhere along the way, her career became bigger than the both of us.

New Jersey politics is tough.

It's rough.

Can you guys please take the bat out on her for once?

She's this adorable 78-year-old lady, state senator from New Jersey.

Turns out Chris Christie once said to the press, "You guys ought to take a bat to her."

Few people responded to insults better than Senator Weinberg.

I have enough energy and enough spirit to tell Chris Christie he's not going to bully me, and he's not going to bully the people that I represent in the New Jersey state legislature.

Loretta and Francine Weinberg Graff, join me now.

Francine, Senator Weinberg, thank you both for sitting down with me.

Francine, let me ask you first, why did you start capturing footage of your mother's career, of her at work?

What was your intended goal?

Well, I will say that this really started when I was about five years old, and I am an observer of life.

And even at that young age, I would look at my mother and I would say, she is not like all the other mothers.

She was not a Girl Scout leader.

She did not join the PTA.

She did not take us to the park after school.

We didn't have smartphones.

I just knew someday this story needed to be told.

Well, she didn't take you to the park because she was busy taking on the world and the New Jersey political establishment.

But did you envision it coming together in this format?

I mean, you take us through some of those early years.

And, Senator, what was it like for you to see your work captured and encapsulated like this?

First of all, I have to make one editorial correction.

I did join the PTA.

And I once even ran a PTA program.

So there are little moments that Francine might not have captured.

But this kind of evolved.

And somebody asked me just the other day, how did you give permission to your daughter to do this film?

And I said, well, I never really did.

She just put it in before I knew it, we were in the middle of a film.

So I'm very proud of her.

I'm very proud of the work that she did here, really on her own, the writing, the producing, everything but carrying the camera herself.

And it captures a snapshot of my career.

And the issues around Bridgegate, which I guess is a snapshot maybe of the years I was in the legislature.

And a very interesting part of dealing with New Jersey politics as a woman.

And at that point in my career as an older woman.

The two big areas, and I don't want to give away the entire documentary.

But, of course, the two big areas where you focus on are the work with marriage equality.

And then, of course, in investigating and uncovering the Bridgegate scandal.

I mean, as a journalist, it never really occurred to me.

But, Francine, you point out in the film that when most are maybe considering retiring, your mom was really at the pinnacle of her career.

Why was it important for you to show that?

Well, what I tell people is this is not a legacy project.

This is not a love letter to my mother.

There are a lot easier ways to do that.

This is a love letter to people, women, but especially women as we get older.

We are sort of -- our voices are kind of invisible.

And we are made to feel invisible.

And my mother was almost 70 when she became a state senator.

She was almost 75 when she ran for lieutenant governor with John Corzine.

And she was almost 80 when she kneecapped, as I like to say, Chris Christie and his presidential aspirations.

And this is a love letter to all of those people who, if you want to take care of your grandchildren, I have no judgment.

Go ahead and do that.

But if you are called to do something, get in the game because the world needs you and you are not invisible.

>> I mean, Senator, you've also been extremely vocal on situations with New Jersey transit.

I mean, there was the smart gun bills, you know, Planned Parenthood, reproductive rights, a whole feast, if you will, of issues and topics.

What do you think New Jersey is left with now that you have left the political scene in that way?

I mean, there's no Loretta Weinberg sitting in at New Jersey transit and Port Authority hearings anymore.

>> Well, I think there are people there to carry out this legacy.

It is having not only the passion for the issue you're trying to move forward, but the discipline to kind of stick with it.

Nothing in New Jersey worthwhile happens overnight, or at least very little worthwhile happens overnight.

Lots of things happen, but not necessarily things we want.

So it takes a discipline.

And I use marriage equality.

I was over the course of almost 20 years before we got from the beginning to yes, marriage equality is the law of the land here in New Jersey.

So it's the ability to step over the roadblocks and keep pushing.

And there aren't, I guess, a lot of people who have that kind of discipline, but there are people in the legislature, some I've worked with, that I keep on encouraging, that I know it's not fun to go to Newark, to speak, to stand before the New Jersey Transit Board, particularly when you don't get warm welcomes at the other end.

It's not always fun to keep taking on the smoking lobby, like people are doing in the legislature right now, vis-a-vis the casinos.

It's not always fun taking on the medical insurance companies to guarantee 48 hours for their new moms.

But nothing in these areas ever came easily.

>> Senator Loretta Weinberg, Francine Weinberg Graff, thank you so much for coming on.

>> Thank you.

>> Thanks, Brianna.

>> Thanks, Brianna.

>> That's going to do it for us on this Christmas Eve.

We hope you've enjoyed this look back on a few of the stories of these extraordinary people.

Maybe they touched your lives or are inspiring you in some way this holiday season.

Don't forget, you can listen to this special broadcast wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Brianna Vannozzi.

From all of us here at "NJ Spotlight News," we wish you a safe, healthy, and merry Christmas.

We'll see you right back here tomorrow night.

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My name is Julia Torianni Crompton, and I'm proud to be an NJEA member.

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